Warriors’ blueprint became Nuggets’ guide to success

1of16Despite a youthful roster, head coach Michael Malone has guided the Nuggets to a 29-13 record, the best mark in the Western Conference. Denver beat Golden State earlier this season.Photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images 2017

2of16DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 21: Stephen Curry (30) of the Golden State Warriors brings the ball up court against the Denver Nuggets during the second half of the Nuggets' 100-98 win on Sunday, October 21, 2018. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Golden State Warriors at the Pepsi Center in Denver.Photo: AAron Ontiveroz / Denver Post via Getty Images 2018

3of16DENVER, COLORADO - JANUARY 13: Nikola Jokic #15 and Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets celebrate against the Portland Trail Blazers late in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center on January 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado.Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images

4of16Golden State Warriors' assistant coach Michael Malone, left, draws up a play while head coach Mark Jackson talks to the players during a timeout in the first half of their NBA basketball game with the Dallas Mavericks Thursday, April 12, 2012, in Oakland, Calif.Photo: Lance Iversen / The Chronicle

5of16DENVER, COLORADO - JANUARY 13: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets is guarded by Evan Turner #1 of the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center on January 13, 2019 in Denver, Colorado.Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images

6of16Klay Thompson (11) and Jordan Bell (2) defend against Nikola Jokic (15) in the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, January 8, 2018.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

7of16Michael Malone (left) talks to Golden State players after drawing up a play. The Nuggets’ head coach spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach in the league.Photo: Lance Iversen / The Chronicle 2012

8of16Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, right, argues for a foul call as referee Mike Callahan looks on in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, in Denver. The Nuggets won 95-86.Photo: David Zalubowski / Associated Press

9of16Injured Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins takes a shot as he works out before the Warriors face the Denver Nuggets in an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Denver. Photo: David Zalubowski / AP

10of16Injured Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins takes a shot as he works out before the Warriors face the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.Photo: David Zalubowski / AP

12of16Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson reacts after hitting a basket against the Denver Nuggets late in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Denver. The Warriors won 142-111. Photo: David Zalubowski / Associated Press

13of16Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry reacts after hitting a 3-point basket against the Denver Nuggets in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Denver. The Warriors won 142-111.Photo: David Zalubowski, Associated Press

14of16Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry looks on from the bench late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Denver. The Warriors won 142-111.Photo: David Zalubowski, AP

15of16Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson reacts after hitting a basket against the Denver Nuggets late in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Denver. The Warriors won 142-111.Photo: David Zalubowski, AP

DENVER — Before the three championships in four years, before the Kevin Durant signing, before Stephen Curry’s two NBA MVP awards, the Warriors were merely another playoff team with a promising young core.

It was May 2013, and sixth-seeded Golden State had just ousted third-seeded Denver in a six-game first-round series. Michael Malone, the Warriors’ assistant credited with overhauling the defense, was hired a month later as the Kings’ head coach.

Over the past six years, as Golden State blossomed into a dynasty, Denver slowly tried to follow its championship blueprint. Like the Warriors, the Nuggets have built largely through the draft, added complementary players through shrewd trades and inking one franchise-changing free agent. The result is a team that could be Golden State’s biggest Western Conference threat for years to come.

In his fourth season as Denver’s head coach after going 39-67 with Sacramento, Malone enters Tuesday night’s matchup with the Warriors at Pepsi Center with the Nuggets atop the West standings at 29-13, a half-game ahead of Golden State. Only two teams — Toronto (33-12) and Milwaukee (30-12) — boast a better record than Denver, which hasn’t made the postseason since that playoff loss to the Warriors.

“It’s obviously great to see Coach Malone, who used to be with us when we were making our push to that next level, turn the corner this year,” Curry said. “Obviously, (Nikola) Jokic is kind of leading the charge. They’re a deep team, though. They get contributions all across the board.”

ESPN’s Micah Adams saw this coming. In October 2017, he wrote: “When you compare these 2017-18 Nuggets to those Warriors from the season before they won the (2014-15) title, the parallels suggest we might be overlooking the NBA’s next great team — again.”

Denver showed flashes of potential last season, but it was ultimately undone by porous defense. Teams attacked Jokic in pick-and-rolls, exploited his subpar rim protection, and forced the Nuggets’ help-side defenders to overcompensate. Though Denver finished with the league’s sixth-best offensive rating, it was 23rd in defensive rating.

Last summer, after reviewing hours of video of Jokic being targeted on pick-and-rolls, Malone’s staff decided to move him up on that critical defensive sequence. That forces the ball-handler to make a decision earlier and puts more pressure on the defenders behind Jokic.

To improve one of the league’s ugliest fast-break defenses, Denver purposely has gotten worse in one of its strongest areas, offensive rebounding. Instead of chasing second-chance points, both guards and the small forward are mandated to run back on defense.

Next game

Who: Warriors (29-14) at Nuggets (29-13)

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Denver

TV/Radio: NBCSBA/ 95.7

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Combine such tweaks with much-improved communication, and the Nuggets now pair a 10th-ranked defense with their sixth-ranked offense. In Denver’s only previous meeting with Golden State this season, a 100-98 home win by the Nuggets on Oct. 21, Juan Hernangomez’s last-second block of a Damian Jones layup attempt sealed the victory.

“We’re not asking (the team) to be a top-10 defense,” Denver assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. told the Ringer in November. “In a perfect world, we are, and if we get there, great. But we can’t be 28th, 29th in the league.

“With our offense, if we get to be average on defense, we’re beyond a 50-plus-win team.”

Jokic, who — at 7 feet and 250 pounds — does not resemble Curry, has at least one key similarity to him: an unrivaled skill. Whereas Curry’s shooting range creates gobs of space for teammates, Denver has relied on Jokic’s uncanny court vision and passing.

A 2014 mid-second-round pick unearthed from the Adriatic League, Jokic has vaulted himself into the MVP discussion with a style that almost defies comparison. The 23-year-old is on pace to join Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to average at least 19 points, 10 rebounds and 7.5 assists in a season.

Point guard Jamal Murray, like the Warriors’ Draymond Green, came off the bench early in his career before emerging as a trusted sidekick. Shooting guard Gary Harris’ textbook jumper and two-way abilities have drawn parallels to Klay Thompson. Though not a transcendent talent like Durant, four-time All-Star Paul Millsap’s addition heightened the Nuggets’ ceiling.

That Denver has gotten to even this point speaks to its ability to replicate Golden State’s success with non-lottery draft picks. Jokic (No. 41, 2014) is the obvious example, but the Nuggets are one of the league’s deeper teams, thanks to the likes of Harris (No. 19, 2014), Hernangomez (No. 15, 2016), Malik Beasley (No. 19, 2016), Monte Morris (No. 51, 2017) and Torrey Craig (undrafted, 2014).

Though it remains to be seen whether Denver seriously can challenge the Warriors, this much is certain: It is built to compete at a high level for years to come. With an average age of 24.7, the Nuggets are the youngest team in the NBA.

Malone “has made decisions to help propel that group up,” Green said. “It’s been pretty good to watch. I’m a huge fan of Coach Malone. He’s a great coach, and he’s got those guys playing really well.”

Connor Letourneau moved to the Golden State Warriors beat in September 2016 after a year covering Cal. Previously, he spent two years covering the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian. Letourneau is a University of Maryland alum who has interned for The Baltimore Sun and blogged for The New York Times. A Portland, Ore., native, he is interested in telling the stories that extend beyond the field or court.